Blade Runner made Rutger Hauer an icon of the sci-fi genre, but don’t miss out on these six other wild sci-fi films…
The late great Rutger Hauer saw things you people wouldn’t believe. Having made a name for himself as an acclaimed star in his native Holland, a Hollywood break soon beckoned. After a couple of tries, including a stellar villain turn in the Sylvester Stallone film Nighthawks, Hauer then starred in a little film called Blade Runner. Despite the film’s initial failure at the box office, Hauer’s compelling and unique presence didn’t go unnoticed, and he worked predominantly in Hollywood from then on.
By the end of the 80s, and with a run of great cult films like The Hitcher, Blind Fury and Ladyhawke under his belt, Hauer was proving popular in the booming home video market, if lacking a bona fide box office hit as a leading man. In the 90s, he’d become largely known for prolific work in the straight-to-video market, with some bigger films interspersed among them. However, despite Hauer becoming a B-movie icon, there was always a consistent no matter how cheap the production; Hauer was never less than electrifying, able to elevate even the silliest films with his charismatic presence and unpredictable (but interesting) performance choices.
Blade Runner, one of the all-time great sci-fi films, did eventually get paid its dues for the masterpiece lurking within it (brought out particularly with the director’s cut). Hauer’s place in cinema iconography was also confirmed thanks to his electrifying performance as Roy Batty, cemented by his final immortal lines. So it would be fair to say that for many, Hauer is associated with sci-fi. In truth, he was nothing if not eclectic, touching pretty much every genre going, particularly in the B movie sphere. In his wide and diverse CV, he made a lot of sci-fi movies, and whilst none come close to the brilliance of Blade Runner, many of them are great in their own right and a lot of fun. Here are six wild Rutger Hauer sci-fi films….
Blood of Heroes (Salute the Jugger)
Sci-fi sports films are great, and if you’ve seen Rollerball, that’s nothing compared to the brutality of the gladiatorial Juggers in The Blood of Heroes. Fusing a Mad Max-ian post-apocalyptic world with Orwellian overlords, this rollicking sci-fi action film is written and directed by David Webb Peoples, one of the writers of Blade Runner.
Hauer, with his inimitable presence, leads an excellent cast including Vincent D’Onofrio, Delroy Lindo and Joan Chen. The dusty post-apocalyptic landscapes look familiar in a decade absolutely filled to the brim with Mad Max riffs, but this rises above most thanks to that cast and the thrilling set pieces with the battling Juggers. This one has recently had a great remaster, which will hopefully give it a new lease of life as it remains an underrated 80s gem.
Split Second
Part Predator and Alien set within a near-future cyberpunk-infused London that’s largely submerged in water, Hauer has a ball as a cigar-chomping and rule-breaking cop on the edge, tracking a serial killer. It soon becomes apparent that the killer he’s tracked is a fearsome creature.
It’s all pretty tongue-in-cheek and has some solid production values for an early 90s B picture. The British locations and cast give this a certain rare quality for this type of B-picture, many of which would typically be filmed in the US, or places like Italy, Eastern Europe or the Philippines if a limited budget was required. It certainly benefits from character actors like Pete Postlethwaite and Alun Armstrong, and Kim Cattrall is also a welcome addition. The film’s cult legacy, however, is largely down to how great Hauer is because he’s got just the right amount of self awareness to roll into, and elevate the silliness.
Redline
Tibor Takacs has always been a fine purveyor of genre films on a budget. Redline (also known as Deathline or Armageddon) is a film with enough individualistic quirks to stand out over many cheap sci-fi action films of the time. It doesn’t succumb to the same curse afflicting many similar films of the late 90s by playing with new-fangled CGI technology and leaving it incredibly dated. Takacs opts mostly for a practical, anachronistic approach to the film’s look. Shot in Hungary, it’s all old, slightly brutalist meets neo-gothic buildings, and then interiors suitably dressed with totalitarian decor. The fusion of influences, with the odd sprinkle of cyberpunk, makes it visually engaging with Hauer as a smuggler left for dead (by Mark Dacascos) who is re-animated and then manipulated to carry out jobs for nefarious government folk, all whilst seeking revenge.
There are probably a few too many sci-fi ideas and tropes in play here, but Hauer, Dacascos and Yvonne Scio are all great. Hauer, in particular, has his atypical, enigmatic charm. Takacs (as always) ekes a lot of style out of the limited resources, and there are plenty of John Woo-inspired shootouts (because this was in the 90s after all). It’s a lot of fun.
Wedlock
With touches of Running Man, No Escape and Fortress, along with Defiant Ones (and all the future ripoffs such as Fled), Wedlock is a very decent sci-fi prison escape movie where two fleeing prisoners find themselves locked together. In this case, it’s not chains (as in Defiant Ones) but exploding collars that go off should you become separated from your partner.
Hauer is joined by Mimi Rogers, and a solid cast is rounded out by Joan Chen, Stephen Toblowsky, Basil Wallace, Danny Trejo and James Remar. Lewis Teague shows the same rock-solid solid if unspectacular, direction he displayed in Navy Seals, and there are enough set pieces to keep you entertained. As per the usual, Hauer elevates the almighty hell out of this one.
Crossworlds
Crossworlds deals with the ability to cross time and dimensions in a way that has become all the rage in modern, multiverse-obsessed blockbusters. A young guy inherits a pendant and soon discovers he has the ability to jump worlds, but is soon faced with an evil nemesis (played by Stuart Wilson) he must stop. Which is where Rutger comes in as a kind of more morally obtuse, Obi-Wan-type character.
The grand ideas and world-building probably get too big for the budget’s britches, but this is still a lot of fun thanks to Hauer’s subtly wry turn. There’s an early role for Jack Black, too. This is the kind of classic old video era fare you rediscover on Tubi and find is actually way better than most of the equivalent budget sci-fi (and even most big budget) of the modern era.
Omega Doom
It would be remiss of me to dive into the career of a legendary B movie star like Hauer and not mention a prolific director he would inevitably cross paths with, Albert Pyun. The late great director seemed to have a predilection for Cyborg movies, and he’s in familiar territory here, fusing another post-apocalyptic world of cyborg overrule, with the tried and true Yojimbo plot (used so many times in cinema).
Around this time, Pyun was pumping out so many genre films, and he shot a number of films (often concurrently) in far-flung corners of Europe, not often utilised by American productions. Shot in Slovakia, Omega Doom certainly makes use of some crumbling, ready-to-roll production and set design. Like a lot of Pyun’s films of this time, the tight schedule and lack of pennies are joined by strange choices and pacing, but there’s still a certain charm to the proceedings, and Hauer manages to keep it watchable.
What’s your favourite Rutger Hauer sci-fi film, besides Blade Runner? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth or hit me up @JolliffeProductions…
Tom Jolliffe
